Marina Del Rey Condominium $15 Lawsuits, Toronto

The Toronto Waterfront area can be a beautiful place to live. I thought all my dreams had come true when I moved in to my condominium 23 years ago. It has the most spectacular view of this city! However, I soon discovered that purchasing this property would become my biggest nightmare! I have now been homeless for 13 years!

This is a cautionary tale about what happens to a condo owner at Marina Del Rey Phase I, 2261 Lake Shore Blvd. W, who is forced to commence legal action in an effort to rebuild her home after years of continuous water flooding problems, mismanagement, neglect of duties, and bad faith displayed by insurance companies.

I have started this blog with the hope that I can provide help and encouragement to others who find themselves in a similar situation. Insurance companies and corporations have lots of money and lawyers to fight us. However, we have the power of the internet and the social media to connect, support each other, and exchange helpful information.

I am being sued for $25,000! An owner claims he can't sell his unit because of the 3 lawsuits (2 are mine), and this website.

Some Condo Owners, former and current Directors of the Condo Board, a Real Estate Agent, and a Real Estate Lawyer / fellow condo owner don't want you to read my blog.

They want it shut down.

I spoke with the real estate agent who represented a potential buyer - they were concerned about the lawsuits, reports of leaking windows and pipes. Rightly so in my opinion.

Others potential owners were advised not to worry, and they purchased units at our building anyway.

Most condo owners don't care! They were advised by our insurance lawyer two years ago, then once again by the Board of Directors at our last annual general meeting that it is all being taken care of by the condo corporation's insurance.

It has not stopped many from purchasing units in our building. In fact, sales have been very strong.

Guess what happened January 4, 2015? Another major plumbing accident on the main floor flooding the hallway across the hall from the unit being sold - the same owner who just served me with the lawsuit!

Another plumbing accident on the main floor caused a big flood.

It damaged not only a condo, but also people's personal property in storage units one floor below.

Maybe now the owner who is suing me believes me?

It happened to me multiple times and it can happen to any of you too.

In the photo, you can see the baseboards from the common walls removed so they can dry.

Some parts still have drywall to the floor.

But if you look closely at one section of the wall near the unit being sold, the steel studs of the common wall are badly rusted and the drywall is damaged.

This is evidence of a water leak and not just a one time flood. I looked in the wall and I could see mold!

Still don't want to believe me?

A real estate agent who happens to be my neighbour, turned her back on me when she found out that I started 2 lawsuits.

Guess what? She had two major floods in her own condo unit - 3 months apart. She had just finished restoring her unit after the first flood when the next one hit.

Now she is speaking to me again.

She offered to try to help me find a buyer for my wrecked condo unit. My unit has no kitchen, no finished bathroom, badly damaged floors + holes cut in walls and ceilings by the condo corporation. They have been unable to determine the source of water leaking through electric conduit into my alarm panel area.

The source of the leak is not in my unit but somewhere above me and they still don't know where the water is coming from.

The seller has the duty to disclose the problems like leaking or mould in a condo unit. I would be scared to buy this unit and it is frightening to live here as well - never quite sure when the next flood will hit.

People are starting to understand that it can happen to anyone.

Yesterday, I spoke with my upstairs neighbour where a number of leaks originated and caused damage to my unit. He agreed with me that it is a good idea to shut off all the water in a condo unit prior to going away for a weekend or on a vacation. The January 2015 main floor flood happened while the owner was away.

A week after the main floor flood, we received a notice in our door warning owners that our building is aging (it was built in 1988) and as a result, original plumbing and fixtures are failing. It is an owner's responsibility to have the plumbing and fixtures inspected and replaced if necessary by a plumber.

The owner from where the flood originated is responsible for repairs to their unit and all other units affected including the common elements.

There may still be a number of original Crane toilets in our building. Defective Crane toilets which spontaneously crack were manufactured from 1980 to 1991. Read about the Defective Crane Toilets
In 2009, the Condo Corporation posted a notice about the problems with the toilets installed by the builder. After a class action lawsuit, Crane was willing to exchange the toilets. Not everyone in our building did this.

I just seems like many don't read the notices or bother to attend meetings - then complain that there are problems here.

Some of us just can't figure out why it was more important to renovate our beautiful lobby instead of replacing the old water pipes (scheduled for 2018) or replacing defective leaking windows (scheduled to begin in 2025.)

Many owners wonder why nearly our entire reserve fund was spent on redecorating? We liked the building the way it was! Traditional decor, warm wood paneling and marble floors.

Many don't like the new redecorating scheme or the new lobby which to me looks like an office building. Cold and white, hard surfaces. Check out the wild carpets and the black wallpaper:

NOTE: This blog is not censored. This is my opinon and my experiences. Other people love Marina Del Rey and think it is a great place to live and offers "resort style living" and is well managed and the Board is excellent. Feel free to post whatever comments you like under the posts and they will not be deleted.

If you read the comments below the posts you will see that some people support and agree with me. Others say I am crazy, I am going to lose the lawsuits, and it did not affect their decision to purchase a unit at my building.

5 comments:

Sorry to hear about these problems.....I do believe you and perhaps there were some plumbing, etc issues and it was just a matter of bad luck and not the entire building? It's sad that it has come to all this negativity around the entire Marina DelRay complex....I think its lovely with the views but I would hesitate to purchase because of reading these things you have posted.

I live in one of the other phases and have done so for ten years. While we have had some serious plumbing issues such as pin hole leaks in the risers there were dealt with quickly and very professionally albeit an expensive repair. We have the odd in suite flood but these have become few and far between and almost always are due to owner neglect of insuite plumbing.

It is very sad that the board in phase 1 and the insurance companies involved have not come up with a satisfactory solution to this problem. This is not rocket science people and after witnessing the ingenuity and good will used to solve problems after the Calgary floods this ongoing MDR phase 1 problem smells of corruption, petty politics, and entrenched positions. It is time for all parties to start behaving like adults and working towards finding a resolution.

I'd have to agree with your opinion on the new decor though,...too much like an office.

I like that Christina is showing a fighting spirit, she's like Emma in the movie San Andreas; she isn't going to abandon her child. Some owners in her building don't show the same care about their community and neighbors.

It's evident by their actions that their money comes first. Sellers are not supposed to play hush-hush; come clean. The issue isn't that she won't shut-up; the real issue is that management and the board didn't take proper action to begin with, they let this mess get out of hand.

Just as she was getting back on her feet, the plumbers made a mistake, yet they didn't make the plumbers' insurance company pay? Windows shouldn't leak, did they not put enough into the reserve fund? Mould in between walls, yet they spend on redecorating? All kinds of red flags here.

Most people don't want to go public; they forced her hand. Living in those conditions must take a toll on your mental health. I will look forward to the day when she can live a normal life where her living conditions no longer weigh heavy on her mind.

I am glad Christina is so strong. We need more people like Christina to maintain a good community. A good community is not just buildings, it is people willing to help maintain it. You don't just ignore the signs; otherwise, it becomes a slum.

Toronto does not need more slums nor martyrs. Whether you're the strong Rock type or the smart engineer, show some love like this is your own child. Let's do it right.